According to Safar, air quality in Pune was “very poor” in terms of particulate matter readings, which reached five times above the permissible mark in areas like Lohegaon, Hinjewadi, Shivajinagar and Katraj

According to Safar, air quality in Pune was “very poor” in terms of particulate matter readings, which reached five times above the permissible mark.(HT PHOTO)

The minimum temperature in the city dropped to 11.3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning, the lowest of the season, so far.

Along with falling temperatures, the city also witnessed a drastic fall in air quality, as per the System of air quality and weather forecasting and research’s (Safar) readings on Tuesday. According to Safar, air quality in Pune was “very poor” in terms of particulate matter readings, which reached five times above the permissible mark in areas like Lohegaon, Hinjewadi, Shivajinagar and Katraj.

Safar’s project director Gufran Beig says, “Air quality in city has deteriorated because of winter and increased construction activity in various areas.”

In terms of temperatures, Pune continued to record a lower minimum than Mahabaleshwar, which saw mercury fall to 15.2 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

According to the India meteorological department (IMD), there was a sudden decrease in the minimum temperature in some parts of Vidharbha and middle (madhya) Maharashtra.Minimum temperatures dropped by two degrees Celsius, as compared to Monday, when in Pune, it was 13.6 deg C.

Along with Pune, minimum temperatures in Nashik, Satara, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Solapur and other parts of the middle Maharashtra also dropped. Ahmednagar recorded the state’s lowest minimum temperature at 10.2 degrees Celsius.

IMD Pune has forecast the minimum temperature to remain between 12 degrees Celsius and 13 degrees Celsius for the next six days, while the maximum temperature is forecast to be 32 degrees Celsius.